default-output-block.skip-main
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Luxury Braces Itself as Chinese Authorities Discourage Travel Ahead of New Year Festivities

Customers wearing face masks line up to enter Wushang Plaza Shopping Centre in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. Getty Images.

Chinese authorities have reported the country’s first Covid-19 death since May and reimposed small-scale lockdowns following a surge in local cases. 

Following the death (China’s 4,635th since Covid-19 broke out), thousands of residents in high risk areas within Hebei province’s Shijiazhuang have been evacuated to a quarantine facility, South China Morning Post reports. The country’s national health commission reported almost 140 new confirmed cases as well as 78 asymptomatic cases on Thursday, China’s highest daily count since March

The uptick comes just weeks before February’s Chinese New Year holiday, a major travel and gifting period in the country. Not only have authorities discouraged people from travelling home for the New Year, restrictions will be imposed on gatherings such as banquets and parties.

Travel limitations and social distancing bode poorly for luxury retailers, for whom China’s rapid recovery from coronavirus has provided a much needed respite from stagnant sales in Europe and the US. Travel retail in particular has been buoyed by a rebound in domestic travel, which will suffer a hard blow if businesses must miss out on the lucrative holiday period.

In This Article
Topics

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from China
Go inside the opaque giant that accounts for one-third of global luxury sales.


While travel to Europe remains muted, Chinese shoppers are flocking to Singapore, Thailand and other Southeast Asian destinations where fashion retailers are hoping Lunar New Year marketing investments will pay off.


Local fashion designers experimenting with puffers and other down clothing have scored collaborations with outerwear companies like Moncler and attracted the attention of prominent international retailers like H.Lorenzo.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional Summit - New Frontiers: AI, Digital Culture and Virtual Worlds - March 22, 2024
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional Summit - New Frontiers: AI, Digital Culture and Virtual Worlds - March 22, 2024